Death of a Workaholic

It doesn’t matter how tough you are, we could all use a confidence booster every now and again. If someone is constantly tearing you down, imagine how that can affect you and your performance. If you keep getting it “wrong” then you might start to feel like you will never get it right. What if that person tearing you down is you? What if you don't even realize it? What if you're that voi...

Imagine a relationship that feels so good, that it totally consumes you and everything in your life. For Corban, when he is loving the work he’s doing, full of creativity, and he just feels good, he doesn’t want it to end, ever. But he realizes that a relationship shouldn’t completely consume you. Tune in to hear what Corban’s soundtrack to work is, and how he integrates that into his personal lif...

Tabby joined me again for a recap of the 2nd season of Death of a Workaholic, The Messy Middle. Each story has a uniqueness about it, but a common theme around when they realized that they were sinking in the mud.  These guests went through trials with family members and friends; ended careers; and had mental breakdowns when they realized that there had to be a better way. I mean who wants to live...

Do you define success based on what others think, or what makes you happy? Kiley Peters had a vision to be successful to hit all of her numbers at her current company, while building a new company, while planning a wedding, while trying to plan for a family. Now those are all amazing and exciting things, but at the same time, can you be successful with each? It wasn’t until after she spent all of...

I think most of us can say that at some point in time, we’ve felt some kind of weight on our shoulders that we aren’t sure how to get off. Tonia Jahshan struggled with anxiety and mental health for 10 years and just kept pushing on while growing her family and business… ignoring the side effects that workaholism had caused. Much of her anxiety was fueled by feeling responsible for other people&apo...

We don’t admire chicken’s running around with their heads cut off, so why do we act like that sometimes? People we typically admire are strong, calm, and productive, like lions taking their careful time to make a move, or a tree absorbing energy to grow bigger and stronger. Monica Park struggled with saying yes and doing everything she could to be financially safe and sought after. Once she realiz...

If you had just twice as much energy to put into your relationships that you put into your work, what do you think would happen? Logically speaking, they can only get better. Tim Ash had a recalibrating moment when he went to a Men’s Initiation Weekend to discover his purpose. He went from a “get shit done person” to focusing on the right things that lead him towards his purpose. Key Takeaways Ste...

Once you hit the age of 50, would you look at your life and say “wow I have lived this life I’ve always dreamed about” or would you have regret, wishing you had done things differently? When Travis Parry’s dad passed away unexpectedly at the age of 49, it forced him to look at his life and his years ahead. Was he on track to live the life he always wanted? So he started some heavy research on pare...

If it doesn’t feel right, then it probably isn’t… Your body knows best. Have you ever thought about doing something but didn’t because you were afraid of what others would say? That’s fear of judgment, when you feel like you SHOULD do something, rather than what you truly want to do. Well Gianna Biscontini reached a point where she had 0 f@*ks left to give to anyone else. She started listening to...

When you break your leg, you have no choice but to let it rest because of the cast you wear. But when you sustain a brain injury, it can be easy to keep going because you can’t see the injury. Nina Nesdoly had a life plan to follow and nothing was going to get in her way. Until she didn’t take a break and rest. She suffered from Post Concussion Syndrome after getting a concussion — while taking a...

If you’re winning an award, you’d think that you’d be over the moon excited. But for Sue Ryan, all she could think was “what’s next?” That was a pivoting moment for her. She realized that something needed to change within to truly fulfill her. It wasn’t until she took an in-depth journey of self exploration to come up with a practice of  how to use her wisdom to help others, rather than what would...

“Here lies Jenny. She just had to send one more email.” Change is never clean and tidy – it's a swirling, gooey, messy adventure. I prided myself in my work ethic for my entire life and felt like that was the only option out there, but boy did I have a tough time when my kids’ dad was diagnosed with cancer. I was confused, lost, and just mentally exhausted. How was I going to take on both rol...

For the last episode of this season I thought it would be fun to recap with the one behind it all, my podcast producer, Tabby. She carefully listened to all 10 episodes and took in everything. Each one was unique with a different story to tell. After listening to them all, something happened, and then something else happened. She found herself seeing workaholic traits in herself in the beginning,...

We all need help at some point. Some of us ask for it, and some of us don’t. Those who don’t can be left crying in the shower…while keeping a poker face around everyone else. Jesse Johnson opened up to me about the challenges he faced as a young, single dad of 4. His cup was empty and finally asked for help. It was night and day the relief he felt from receiving help in all areas of his life. Key...

How do you get ahead of the bear? Is it completing a to-do list of 9 different things, to say “yes, I did it!” Or is it sitting outside with a book (or even without a book), and just doing anything that brings you joy? Either one can be the right answer! Having white space, or downtime can really create something beautiful so that you are able to 1) relax, and 2) narrow down your unnecessarily lon...

You’re there, but not really there. Janet Barrett shares her lifelong journey with presenteeism, which is when someone shows up for work or life but isn't mentally present. She used work as a way to escape or to numb herself from her problems. But after 49 years, she broke. Her husband wanted a divorce and it was that turning point where she realized she had to unpack her giant backpack full...

We all love a good horn toot, right? Once you experience the feeling of being valued and being recognized , it’s so hard to let that feeling go. In 7th grade, Jennifer Fondrevay recalled her first flirtation with workaholism, and since then it’s been a roller coaster of a relationship. It is stressful when you are constantly trying to prove yourself to others, when they really don’t care. But once...

Do you struggle with saying no? For Ana, overcoming dyslexia at a young age, and conquering a Master's Degree in a foreign language was just the beginning. She remembers thinking of herself as the energizer bunny, to keep going and going to outlast everyone else. She said yes over and over again, until she couldn’t anymore. Then she was diagnosed with Inflammatory Breast Cancer. It was a wake...

Can you go to sleep at night knowing that a project has been left undone ? Or are you working at 2 in the morning trying to finish? For some people they are fine going to sleep knowing they can finish tomorrow. For others with a compulsion to work, work, work, they are up late burning themselves out, just to finish that work. That wasn’t even a question for Penny Zenker. She made sure she complete...

Whoever said you have to “work first, to play later,” never met Max. Imagine planning your vacations and days off first, THEN figuring out how you will make your business work… Yes, it is possible! Max Traylor is a fully rehabilitated, short-lived workaholic. He tells his clients to put their personal lives first, and helps them figure out how to live their lives that way. Key Takeaways There is n...

Ep 003 - Quality Over Quantity - Nadya Rousseau “I can go 80% of the day now without checking my email.” Imagine not feeling the urge to check your email and constantly make sure everything is okay at work, when you’re enjoying family time or out on vacation? I’ll let you in on a secret- It is possible. When you’ve been trained that success =  “go, go, go,” from childhood, that instinct carries in...

“What fills your cup?” A lifetime of reinforcing that “doing more” = “doing better” . Is the reason many of us find ourselves workaholics later in life. But what is at the root? Is it perfectionism ? Is it workaholism ? How do you unpack the two and figure out how to grapple with each set of voices so you quiet them and show up fully in work and life. Brittany takes us on her journey. It took a pr...

“I was eager, and I was a quick learner.” These two traits are a dangerous recipe for success. I loved to learn new things, and to be successful at taking on new challenges and defeating them. So I did it for my whole life. It fed me. When my kids lost their dad, and I was left to parent two grieving kids solo, I quickly realized that this wasn’t right. This wasn’t how I wanted to live my life. I...